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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23131333">Where we went wrong</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishiki/pseuds/nishiki'>nishiki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Again, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves &amp; Diego Hargreeves friendship, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves Friendship, Ben Hargreeves Lives, Big Sibling Luther Hargreeves, Childhood Trauma, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Dr. Pogo Lives (Umbrella Academy), Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Gen Work, Going back in time, Good Sibling Allison Hargreeves, Good Sibling Diego Hargreeves, Good Sibling Luther Hargreeves, Kinda, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Luther Hargreeves Has a Human Body, Luther tries to be a good brother, Luther tries to fix his relationships with his siblings, Mausoleum, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Post-Season/Series 01, Preventing the Apocalypse, Protective Allison Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Protective Luther Hargreeves, Puberty, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Soft Diego Hargreeves, Soft Luther Hargreeves, Stuttering Diego Hargreeves, Teenagers, Time Travel, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, sepcial training, the even numbers squad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:21:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23131333</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishiki/pseuds/nishiki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After going back in time to their thirteen-year-old selves, Luther Hargreeves promises himself that this time he will do everything differently. This time, he will be a good brother to his siblings.</p><p>Or: 6 times Luther Hargreeves helps his siblings and 1 time they do.<br/>Or: Luther Hargreeves finds out about Klaus and Diego's special training and flips his shit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allison Hargreeves &amp; Ben Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves &amp; Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves &amp; Luther Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Diego Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves &amp; Luther Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves &amp; Luther Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Luther Hargreeves &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Luther Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Allison &amp; Ben &amp; Diego &amp; Klaus &amp; Luther &amp; Vanya, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Allison Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Ben Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Diego Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Luther Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Reginald Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy &amp; Vanya Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves &amp; Vanya Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>92</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>744</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Diego</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He didn't feel like himself. He should, of course. Logic dictated that he should feel like himself. After all, it was still <em> his </em>body. His body from when he was thirteen years old - not yet that abomination of a human crossed with the DNA of a gorilla or whatever else his father had administered to him. He should feel like himself again - at long last, himself. He hadn't felt like himself in his body in years. Not after the incident. And still, as he sat on his bed that night and was staring at himself in the mirror across the room in the corner how he sat there in his academy pajamas, he didn't feel like himself.</p><p>This body seemed too small, all of a sudden, and too vast at the very same time. It was an odd feeling. As if he was just a mere passenger in someone else's body and life. A parasite. His skin was tingling and scratching uncomfortably over his bones and his flesh. Yet, he recognized that fresh-faced wide-eyed young boy in the mirror. The short blonde hair, the little dimples when he forced himself to smile, the hopeful blue eyes. It was him. Undoubtedly, the boy in the mirror staring back at him was Luther “Spaceboy” Hargreeves. </p><p>The boy that had died because of his father's negligence to be reborn some Frankenstein monster. It was him. The boy in the mirror didn't know yet of the horrors that lay before him.  He knew not of the years of complete and utter isolation both during his exile on the Moon and down on Earth. He knew not that his siblings, the people he loved most in the whole wide world, would leave him behind to escape from their father’s deadly clutches. </p><p>With a sigh, Luther finally laid down in his bed and listened to the sounds of the house around him. His home, almost his tomb. They had arrived in the past a little over a week ago, after Vanya had blown up the moon in their original timeline. Quickly, the siblings had decided that they would need to act as much as they had originally as possible as to not tip of Sir Reginald or anyone else. He didn't really understand all this time travel bullshit but at least Five did. Five, who was still exhausted and sick from the stunt that they had pulled as a group. </p><p>Today would have been the day that Five would have stormed out during breakfast and vanish for seventeen years. Instead, Five had suddenly jumped from his chair during breakfast, puked on the floor, and then collapsed. Diego had barely been able to catch him in time before Five’s head would have nastily collided with the ground. Since then, Number Five was resting in the infirmary under Mom’s watch. </p><p>He remembered his heart dropping into his pants at the sight, suddenly convinced that Five going back this far with them and altering his own timeline in not running away, had had more serious repercussions than Five was able to determine at first. His worries had quickly dissipated, though. An hour later, he had heard Five bitching from the infirmary that he was good and wanted to be let out. In a way, it was nice to see that Luther was not the only one having trouble coping with this new situation. </p><p>Klaus looked like he had the worst migraine of his life since they arrived, Diego was cranky and fatigued and barely hit the intended targets during training, Vanya was trying to cope with everything that happened and had gone back to her medication, for now, Allison was staying close to her sister all throughout the day and Ben … Ben was alive again. That was the biggest change, of course. Ben was alive and he and the other “evens” were inseparable once again. He couldn't deny that it had been <em> cute </em>when they had all arrived in the courtyard a week ago and Ben practically jumped Klaus and Diego.</p><p>He didn't find rest. No matter how much he twisted and turned, he couldn't switch off the voice in the back of his mind that told him to do something and not just lie around. So, in the end, he got up again and moved towards his bedroom door. He had already pulled it open when he suddenly heard his father’s voice at the end of the hallway and stopped dead in his tracks.</p><p>»Number Two!« He heard him barking and opened the door a sliver more so that he could risk a glimpse into the hallway. Reginald stood in front of Diego’s wide-open door with Pogo by his side. »It's time for your training.« </p><p>Training? It was the middle of the night! Suddenly, Pogo turned his head in his direction and Luther quickly shut the door again. He didn't go back to bed, though. Instead, he pressed his ear to the door and listened. He could hear Diego shuffling onto the hallway and close his door after a moment. Odd. He tried remembering if this had happened the first go-around but he couldn't recall Diego being called for extra training in the middle of the night - or any of his siblings, for that matter. Had it happened before and had he really been this ignorant that he had not seen it? </p><p>Then again, he had realized that he had not seen a great many things in his first go-around, right? He clearly could not call himself the most attentive brother or leader in the world. </p><p>Instead of going back to bed, Luther continued to listen until he opened the door once more and snuck out into the dark hallway. He would follow his father and Diego. After they had returned to their childhood, Luther had promised himself that this time he would be a better brother and leader, that he would actually watch out for his siblings more. He wouldn't allow them to suffer like last time. Not when he could do something about it. And this extra training for Diego … he didn't like the sound of it one bit. And his suspicion for once was not born from rivalry because if this training would have been anything Diego was looking forward to, his brother would have rubbed it under his nose the first go-around.</p><p>Luther hurried down the corridor as quickly and silently as he could while still hearing the footfalls of Reginald, Diego, and Pogo. As a grown-up, he had not been particularly good at sneaking around due to his bigger body and his increased weight but right now he had the added bonus of his teenage body on his side. He followed the trio out into the main stairwell and quickly realized that they were headed towards the basement of the house. That realization only furthered his confusion. He would have expected Reginald to take Diego to the gym.</p><p>The gym was in the old part of the house where their father often made his children run up a few floors on the dwindling old staircase. A long time ago, that part of the mansion had been an apartment building before their father had bought it and integrated it into the mansion like all the other shops and former cafés that the mansion had swallowed like an eldritch monstrosity. </p><p>Yet, as he kept following them silently, he realized that he was right in his first assumption. The trio was heading down to the basement. How odd. There was nothing down there! Nothing but, as he knew now, the cell Vanya had been kept in and a few other rooms that held the innards of a house this size. The boiler room, a giant room with water tanks, storage, the laundry room, and pantries. Of all the siblings, Luther would claim that he knew the house the best - as far as this was possible, to begin with. Bringing Diego down into the basement just made no sense to him. Of course, this only intrigued him more now. </p><p>The basement was lit only sparingly every few feet with a flickering old lamp that might as well still be from the last century. As he realized that his father led the trio into the water tank room, Luther hurried closer and waited for a while in the shadows, listening to the sounds coming out of the room, waiting for whatever was happening to happen. Confusion held him in a tight embrace as he waited and listened. He could hear the shrill creaking sound of one of the tanks being opened. Weird. Then there was a splash and finally - finally! - the puzzle pieces snapped together in his mind only to fill him with a whole new horror that he had never quite experienced before.</p><p>The Kraken. This was not training for Diego’s main ability. It was training for the ability he so rarely ever used. And he so rarely used it because he hated water - hated swimming. When the loud creaking sounded once more and the lid of the tank fell shut like the door to a tomb, his heart dropped. Then the footfalls came again. Luther quickly ducked into a dark niche to hide himself from view as Reginald and Pogo left the room and walked down the hallway. Without Diego. <em> They had left Diego in the tank</em>. </p><p>He needed time to fully process that thought. They had left Diego in the water tank. His brother hated water. He remembered how loudly Diego had screeched about being placed in the bathtub once when they were six years old. Only Klaus’ presence in the same tub had managed to calm him down. How long had Reginald been doing this to Diego? </p><p>As Reginald and Pogo were no longer to be heard, Luther quickly hurried into the room. He found a puddle of water in front of the biggest of the four water tanks. There was no window at the side to check on the water - or on Diego for that matter. A small meter at the side told him about the amount of water inside, however. It was filled to the brim, no chance for his brother to gasp for breath between the water’s edge and the lid of the tank.</p><p>As he stopped and stared and didn't know what to do, he suddenly came to realize that there were sounds coming from inside. It sounded like hands slamming against the sides of the tank. Diego wanted out. He was panicking! Although he knew that Diego couldn't really drown, although he knew that he could hold his breath indefinitely, Luther still rushed up the rusty old ladder to the lid. Without thinking about it, he turned the lever that held the lid closed and ripped it open at once - ripping the lid clean off in the process and throwing it against the next best wall.</p><p>Diego’s hand shot up and tried gripping the edge of the opening but found Luther’s hands instead. He was still devoid of all logic and rational thought as he pulled Diego out of the water at once. As soon as he was out of the water, Diego was coughing and sputtering up water, trembling and shivering and still in his pajamas. </p><p>»Fuck!« Luther allowed to slip out and had the presence of mind to steady his brother on the old shaky ladder as he slowly helped him back down to the ground. He had never seen Diego so shaken and terrified. Right now, there seemed nothing left of his tall brooding macho brother. He now was every bit the child he looked like. A scared, traumatized child. »What was that?« He tried to inquire but his own voice was wavering and trembling. </p><p>»T-T-Training!« Diego stuttered and Luther couldn't help but put his arms around his brother for just a moment. This time around, he had decided, he would do things differently. Beginning by mending his fractured relationship with Number Two. He had never hated Diego, after all. It was their father who had pitted them against each other. Their father who had caused this rift between them. Sometimes he wondered how their life might look like if their relationship had never suffered under the monster that was their father.</p><p>»Training?« He repeated almost sharply as he pushed Diego back to keep him at arm's length just to take another good look at his <em> little </em> brother. Diego looked completely miserable. »That's not training, Diego! That's <em> torture!</em>«</p><p>His brother coughed again almost violently. »No shit, Sherlock.« Diego then groaned. »Welcome to the reality the rest of us had to go through - <em> has </em>to go through. Fuck, this is all so fucking weird … Not only have we to go through fucking puberty all over again but also this fucking crap.«</p><p>It only slowly dawned on Luther that he didn't know half as much about what his siblings had been forced to go through while growing up as he had always thought. He felt stupid. If their father was doing shit like this to Diego than what was he doing to the rest of his siblings? What horrors would they need to go through yet again on their second run through childhood? </p><p>»I am the biggest idiot alive…« He muttered to himself and brushed a hand through his short hair. »Fuck … How didn't I know about shit like this? I mean what did he even want to achieve down here?«</p><p>»He wanted to test if there was a limit to my ability.«</p><p>»And he left you here?«</p><p>»Yeah … right now he knows that I can keep my breath for a few hours. He would have returned in about five hours and then waited with me to make sure I wouldn't drown.« </p><p>»How long … when … When did this stop?«</p><p>»When I moved out.« Diego shrugged. »When I refused to keep being his guinea pig. When I grabbed Klaus and left.«</p><p>»I never asked why you took Klaus with you.« He never asked but he remembered that day vividly. They had barely been seventeen and Ben had just died. One night, Diego had left his room with a duffel bag flung over his shoulder, pulled Klaus out of his bedroom and left with Number Four to escape into the night. </p><p>»I knew if I wouldn't take him with me I would return for his funeral next and I didn't want that.« Diego replied in a quiet little murmur. There was more to this story and he could sense it - but he could also sense that Diego wouldn't tell him. »We had already lost Ben, after all. Maybe it was selfish. Maybe he would have fared better had he stayed here.« </p><p>»I really was a fucking idiot to all of you guys, right?« </p><p>»Yeah, you were.« Diego shrugged. »But you try to be better now, right?«</p><p>Was he? Luther paused at his brother’s words. Usually, they could not have a normal conversation without going at each other's throat right away. Since early childhood, they had only ever been butting heads without mercy to the other. Right now, Diego was the most agreeable he had ever known him. He was calm and quiet, his brown eyes almost soft as if he could see something in him that Luther had yet to discover. </p><p>»Yeah…« He finally whispered. »So … what do we do now?«</p><p>»I can't get back into that tank.« Diego shot back immediately and he felt crestfallen realizing that Diego even considered that Luther would force him back in there. Not to mention, that he couldn't go back inside anyway considering the torn off lid. It was a miracle that Reginald had not heard the noise, to begin with.</p><p>»Of course, not!«</p><p>»But … if Dad comes back and won't find me in there…«</p><p>»I’m not letting him do this to you anymore, Diego!« Luther shot back. »This has gone far enough!« He didn't know yet how to confront his father about all of this but then he remembered the packages underneath the floorboards of his father's bedroom that had never been opened. He remembered the betrayal that his father had yet to commit against him.  </p><p>»What are you going to do?«</p><p>»I have no idea.« Luther sighed. »But I think I’m gonna take a page out of Klaus’ book.«</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 1-</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Allison</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Diego was still dripping wet when the brothers reached Allison’s bedroom. Luther knew that they had to be quick because it would only be a matter of time until Reginald would realize that Diego was no longer in his wet prison and that the brothers were actually running around the house in the middle of the night. Thanks to the cameras, Reginald Hargreeves had his eyes and ears everywhere - including and most importantly, in their bedrooms.</p><p>He couldn't deny the thrill he felt as he knocked on Allison’s door and then just walked in with Diego, whom he pulled along by the arm. He had never gone against Reginald’s rules in his life. Never. He felt anxious and nervous and yes, even frightened, but the thrill was undeniable too.  Diego had not reacted too thrilled to Luther’s decision, though. As he had told him that he would take a page out of Klaus’ book, Diego had stared at him in terror and exclaimed ‘That could mean anything! Luther, what are you doing?’.</p><p>»Luther? Diego? What are you doing here?« Allison mumbled as she sat up in her bed and switched on her bedside lamp. She pulled the sleep mask from her face as she did and looked at her brothers out of tiny, sleepy eyes. He had forgotten how adorable she used to be. »What time is it? What … Diego … What's wrong? Why are you dripping on my carpet?«</p><p>»Later.« Luther interrupted. »I don't know how long we have until Reginald gets here.« He lowered his voice so that the camera wouldn't pick up on it. »You need to rumor Dad.«</p><p>»What?« Both his siblings echoed out of one mouth and both of them stared at Luther as if he had lost his mind.</p><p>»You need to make him forget the special training he subjects Diego to.« Beside him, Diego began to squirm uncomfortably and Luther could only assume it was because he didn't want Allison to know. He and his fucking macho behavior! All this having secrets bullshit was what led them here in the first place!</p><p>»What special training?«</p><p>»The water tanks.« Luther hurried to explain before Diego could interrupt him. »Dad puts Diego in the tanks for hours to test his ability.« Diego gave a weak little strangled sound that voiced his utter discomfort perfectly at Allison’s horrified look. Before any of them could say anything else, however, another voice mingled into the chat.</p><p>»What's going on?« Klaus had always had the ability to move without sound. In a way, he was like a little ghost sometimes, almost levitating through the house instead of walking. At least that's how it sometimes looked like. Now he stood behind the brothers in the doorway with ruffled hair and bags under his eyes. He had probably not slept at all. Since they returned home, he had troubles sleeping again because he was no longer taking drugs and was now once again subjected to the full horrifying display of his powers around the clock. At least that was what he said. »Diego? Why are you wet?« Klaus suddenly seemed alarmed as he grabbed for his brother’s forearm. »Has he put you in the tank again?«</p><p>»Yeah-«</p><p>»What? You knew about that?« Allison chimed in and lowered her voice forcefully to keep it from getting too shrill. She had the tendency to get loud and shrill when she was angry or confused. </p><p>»Yes?«</p><p>»Why didn't you say anything?« Luther cut in again before Allison could but he knew that she would have asked the same thing. Klaus bit his bottom lip and Luther could only watch how Two and Four seemed to have a whole conversation just through looks, leaving Diego with an exasperated sigh in the end. </p><p>»Listen, it's not important right now.« Diego cut him off. »Five said we should change as little as possible about the timeline. It's already a big change that he’s with us and that Vanya knows her powers. So … yeah, Allie if you could just rumor him that would be fantastic. But other than this, we are not changing shit.« Klaus seemed oddly relieved and Luther was at a loss for words. And neither of them had the time to actually wrap his head around anything.</p><p>»What is the meaning of this?« Reginald’s voice came thundering down the hallway as he approached in long steps. »Number Two! I did not conclude your training for today! Why are you up here? Number Four and Number One, back to bed immediately! I will no longer allow this nonsense-«</p><p>»I heard a rumor that you forgot about Diego’s special training. I heard a rumor that Diego never has to go through special training again!« Allison quickly interrupted their father, her voice shrill and almost panicked. She had never done this. She had never gone against their father like this. Using their powers against Reginald was like … it was like throwing a knife at him, punching him, attacking their father. It was wrong in every way and yet the only option they had right now to stop their brother’s abuse. </p><p>Reginald's eyes turned white for a few seconds. Almost Luther had been afraid that Reginald would be impervious to the rumor. He wasn't. He slowly blinked and his eyes turned back to their usual color. For a second, he seemed confused before noticing his four children. »What is the meaning of this?« He repeated his earlier question. »Back to bed all four of you! Number Two, what is this nonsense? Change your clothes immediately!« </p><p>※※※※※※※</p><p>The incident left them all rattled after Luther told the rest of his siblings about it the next day. Allison seemed a little off the following day but he hardly got the chance to actually speak to her about it. It was an odd day with Reginald no longer knowing what had taken place last night. Pogo sure did but the chimp only exchanged one glance with Luther before giving a solemn little nod and acting as if nothing had happened. </p><p>He remembered how Pogo died. He remembered the fight they had had before - the fight that they would have in the future. Of course, this Pogo right here didn't know about any of what was about to come and yet it felt like a sort of apology already. Pogo knew that Allison had probably done something to make Reginald forget about Diego. He had been there, his always loyal assistant and he chose not to say anything. Deep down, Luther thought, the chimp loved them all dearly and was glad that he no longer needed to stand by and witness Diego’s suffering while he was still forced to keep Vanya’s powers a secret. </p><p>All of this was odd and made his head hurt. </p><p>Five had taken it upon himself to delete last night's recordings too before Reginald would check the tapes and find out about what had happened. Their crime was concealed and the only person knowing about it had chosen to be quiet. Yet, Allison seemed on edge the entire day. She barely even looked at him, almost refusing to stay in his presence. She kept close to Vanya. Vanya, who still seemed afraid of Luther after their return into the past. He couldn't blame her. For now, he had chosen to keep his distance from her. </p><p>Reginald left them in the afternoon of that day, allowing his seven children a rare reprieve from the constant drills and training, allowing them to be normal teenagers for a few precious hours. Of course, even this time around they could not be normal teenagers. Five had locked himself with Vanya into the library, the even numbers sat together in Ben’s room to read his old comics and just enjoy the time they had together. </p><p>Klaus’ powers were acting up again, Ben had told Luther in a hushed voice earlier. He needed the comfort only the other two ‘evens’ could provide to The Séance. That left Luther alone in his room as he doubted that Allison wanted to speak to him. She had ignored him the entire day, after all. </p><p>However, just as he had taken a book out of his bookshelf and slumped down on his bed in lack of anything better to do, Allison surprised him as she knocked at his door and let herself in shortly after. He smiled at her as she closed the door behind herself and walked across the room to settle down on Luther’s bed like she had done a million times before when they were children. </p><p>»It's weird … being back here, being … looking like this again.« She started quietly.</p><p>»Yeah.« Luther huffed and out his book aside again. »I mean I can walk around without ducking my head again and can take a shower without the drain clogging from all the hair.« He tried to be funny and cutesy about what was lying in his future. It seemed to work on Allison as she laughed and patted his knee. No matter how hard they tried to act the part, their behaviorisms, their way of talking and their gestures wouldn't fit with their teenage selves anymore. It was weird but hopefully, Five would soon figure everything out so that they could go back to their adult bodies, even though he enjoyed being a normal boy again. </p><p>»I’m sorry about last night.« Luther then quietly muttered. »I know that you didn't want to use your powers anymore and I forced you to.« </p><p>»I appreciate it.« Allison smiled. »Sorry, that I gave you the cold shoulder today.«</p><p>»No, it's okay.« He sighed and sat up straight. »I did more than enough shit to deserve it. Or … I am going to do more than enough shit to deserve it.« He corrected himself with a chuckle.</p><p>»Make that two.« Allison laughed. »We all did horrible shit to each other - are going to do. We can just try to make it better from now on, be better to each other now that we have been given a second chance. So … yeah I wasn't happy about you asking me to rumor Reggie but … I am glad in a way. I am glad because you decided to help Diego out and save him from this so-called training. That's something you would have never done the first go around.«</p><p>»I try to be a better brother.« </p><p>»It shows.« Allison smiled. »The others can see it as well. You proved that last night when you helped Diego. I mean … I didn't even know about this. I didn't know what Reggie was doing to him. No wonder he was always so terrified of water as a kid. How long do you think he did that?«</p><p>»Diego said he started doing this to him when he first discovered that Diego could hold his breath crazy amounts of time and that he only stopped when Diego took Klaus and left.«</p><p>»I am not surprised that Klaus knew about it.«</p><p>»No … I’m not surprised either.« He chuckled. »Two peas in a pot. Do you think … Do you think there is more we don't know?«</p><p>»What do you mean?«</p><p>»About the others. We only found out about Vanya because she destroyed the moon. We never knew about that cage he built for her all those years ago until it was too late. Now we know about what he did to Diego … Do you think … the others have something like this too? And we didn't know? Or that we just turned a blind eye to it because it was easier?«</p><p>»Definitely the latter.« Allison shrugged. »We both were very self-obsessed growing up. We were … selfish and ignorant. Living proof of that are Vanya and Klaus, I suppose. We never really understood how badly Klaus was doing until he spiraled out of control and not even Diego could help him anymore. And Vanya … we saw what happened there.« She absentmindedly touched her throat. There was nothing left of the cut, of course, but they all still had the image in their minds of Allison lying in a pool of her own blood in that cabin in the middle of the woods. »So yes … I think that the others too might have a cage or a water tank or whatever and we didn't care enough to see it. Or we didn't want to see it.« </p><p>»I won't gonna lie« Luther sighed. »I never quite realized how good we two had it.«</p><p>»Well, we were the ones with the easiest powers to control, the ones who played by dad's rules and behaved like he wanted us to behave. Diego too until he realized that it wasn't worth it - until he realized that he would never be Number One. I bet he got willingly into that water tank the first time. To proof his worth to the old man.«</p><p>»I bet you are right.«</p><p>»But I have a confession to make.«</p><p>»Oh?«</p><p>»I wouldn't say that I had a cage or something equally as horrible as Diego but … the reason I don't like to use my power anymore is not just Vanya or Claire.« She paused for a second as if she needed to gather her thoughts before continuing first. »It's … Dad made me use my powers a lot growing up. He used me to make you guys do what he wanted you to do. He forced me to use my powers a lot on you for whatever reason he wanted. He forced me to use them during meetings with board members or politicians when it came to money and financing and legal stuff. That was why he had me tag along so often for his business. I made those people do what he wanted them to do. And then, growing up, I thought, if Dad had me do all this to his own financial gain and to ensure his good reputation then why shouldn't I use my power to my own advantage as well? So I started rumoring people into giving me roles during castings, rumored people into leaving me alone, rumored people into getting with me or friends of mine and all kinds of other stuff. I wonder … to this day … if Patrick’s love for me was ever real.«</p><p>»You rumored him too?« He couldn't quite give a name to the feeling that settled into his stomach. It was an odd mix of relief and grief. Nobody deserved to be forced into any sort of relationship and yet he felt a hint of jealousy knowing that Allison had wanted this man so badly she had decided to rumor him into it. Maybe this was childish and stupid. </p><p>»Yeah … But I thought … my rumors sometimes wore off over time, right? I figured that it would be the same for Patrick and that he would love me regardless when this day would come. However, when he saw me use my power on Claire, I think that's when the spell broke for him. That's why he was so ruthless during the divorce and with Claire ... I  … I am a bad person. I was a bad person and I don't ever want to be like this again.«  </p><p>»Then you won't.« He promised quietly. »I think we had to learn all of this the hard way. We’ve never been the quickest learners.« He then chuckled before his eyes caught on the stereo in the corner of his room. It wasn't the fancy one he would one day have but for right now it was more than enough. </p><p>»I have an idea.« He grinned as he quickly got up from his bed and started searching through his old LPs. He would still have those in seventeen years. He quickly found the one he had been searching for, pulled it out of its cover and placed it on the record player. He shared a small glance with Allison and the girl looked at him in confusion before the first sounds of the melody started playing and Luther approached her with his hand stretched out, the palm directed at the ceiling.</p><p>»We never got our dance the first go-around.« He smirked and Allison breathed out a little laugh at that. »Allison Hargreeves, would you like to dance?« </p><p>She laughed again and the sound was music to his ears before she jumped from the bed and took his hand. Maybe, in another lifetime, they had had this dance already - their adult selves, perhaps. He dreamed about a moonlit night in the park, mere days before the inevitable end of the world, dancing with the woman he had always loved and would always love to a song only they were able to hear.</p><p>This moment, in his childhood bedroom in his thirteen-year-old body, was perfect, though.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 2-</b>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Klaus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He couldn't find sleep. Again. A week had passed since the incident with Diego and ever since that night he barely slept, as if his unconsciousness tried to tell him to be alert. Maybe it was just that he was afraid that something would happen to his siblings and he wouldn't be there to help what kept him up at night. It was very unlike him not to sleep through the night peacefully. Right now, however, he felt full of nervous energy. He wasn't used to feeling like this and didn't quite know what to do with it. This must be how Klaus felt all the time, he assumed - at least while he had been high. Then again, he had experienced being high and that had felt completely different than this right here. </p><p>Nervous. He was nervous. Maybe that was it. His skin was prickly and his hair stood on edge. He felt like something was about to happen, yet he could not name it. When he finally couldn't deal with it any longer, Luther finally got up and out of his bed. He needed to do something and his father probably wouldn't mind him going to the gym to let out his energy that way. </p><p>Of course, they were not allowed to leave their rooms at night. It was weird to follow such strict rules again. His childhood lay back along time ago and yet he had been thrown right back into it and this time around following orders just didn't come as easy and as natural to him any longer. He didn't want to rebel outright either. Being rebellious was not in his nature. Yet, it was hard to nod and accept all these rules after everything he now knew. </p><p>So, he put on his warm wool cardigan that Mom had made for him. She had stitched his name on the back. He remembered receiving this as a gift from her for their thirteenths birthday. She had made one for every one of them. His was yellow, Diego’s was red, Allison’s pink, Klaus’ green, Five’s was blue, Ben’s was orange, and Vanya’s purple. It was the first time that they had ever received something that was not uniform. Sure, the cut of the cardigan was the same for each one but just having something of a different color from his siblings meant a lot. </p><p>The simple fact that Mom had known their favorite colors and made their cardigans in those colors was huge. It meant individualism, it meant personhood. Having numbers as names and wearing the exact same things his siblings would wear, having his hair cut in a precise way and having his brothers all mirror that same haircut had meant to strip them of their individuality, of their personhood. That was, of course, the point.</p><p>Reginald had wanted to create a group of soldiers and soldiers forfeit their right of personhood and individualism when they signed up for the job. Just that they never signed up for the job. They had been forced into that grey mold that their father had created for them and this little splash of color, this simple yellow cardigan gave him back just a tiny hint of an identity. </p><p>Mom had stitched his name into it. Not <em> Number One</em>. <em> Luther</em>. This was <em> Luther’s </em> cardigan and it was not to be shared with his siblings, not to be replaced by another identical one. This was <em> his </em>cardigan and the others had their own. It was the one piece of clothing that Klaus had never stolen from any of them. </p><p>He slipped out into the dark hallway in his cardigan and slippers. The house was silent. Nothing could be heard besides the creaking of the wooden beams that held their house upright - the same beams that had cracked and came crashing down when Vanya had lost all control over her emotions. Knowing that his sister had been able to bring this house down so easily made him sometimes a bit uneasy when he would look at her. Knowing that, in her rage, she had killed Pogo and accepted the possibility of her siblings’ deaths was scary to him. She had very nearly killed Klaus and Diego with falling debris, she had accepted Mom’s death in the chaos. He shook off the thought as he walked past Vanya’s door. </p><p>He stopped, however, at Klaus’ door right in-between Vanya and Diego’s bedrooms. He didn't know why but he felt the need to listen for a moment. Klaus’ bedroom was completely silent, however. Either he wasn’t sleeping or he was at least not having a nightmare. Whichever it was, he didn't want to disturb him so he kept on walking and finally left the hallway their bedrooms were located on to head for the stairs. </p><p>The gym was quite far away from the main part of the house and, as he reached the ground floor, he suddenly realized that he didn't want to be that far away from his siblings in the middle of the night. It was weird how this thought suddenly hit him square in the face. Instead of going to the gym, he walked to the kitchen. Maybe some lazy midnight snack would actually manage to calm him down so he would be able to sleep. Mom used to make them warm milk with a teaspoon of honey. She was probably upstairs in the picture gallery recharging right now, although he had not seen her right away. He didn't want to disturb her either. After all, he wasn't a child anymore. He could make his own warm milk with honey. </p><p>As he reached the kitchen, he quickly grabbed his usual mug from the cupboard, filled it up with milk from the fridge and put it in the microwave for no longer than 30 seconds. As the microwave binged, he took out the warm cup, grabbed a teaspoon and the honey and put exactly one teaspoon of honey into the milk. It might be a little thing but Luther was still proud of his work. Even as an adult, Mom had cooked for him and taken care of his every need. It felt good doing this one thing for himself for once. </p><p>With his mug in hand, he sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip. It didn't taste at all like Mom used to make it. The taste left him disappointed. He had done everything like Mom used to do it. He had seen it thousands of times and yet it didn't taste the same. It tasted … empty. What a weird thing to think but that was exactly it. It tasted stale and empty and disappointing. He still drank half the mug before he noticed sounds coming from the upstairs hallway. </p><p>Someone was walking down the stairs. His heart dropped at the realization that his father was probably about to come into the kitchen and berate him for being out of bed. He quickly hurried to switch off the light as if that would change anything if Dad had already seen him wander around on the cameras. Then, however, he realized that his father wasn’t alone. He could hear two other sets of footsteps accompanied by someone sniffling. </p><p>He knew that sniffle. He had grown up with that sniffle. He had heard it every winter when Klaus would catch his annual cold and every time his brother had hurt himself in any way. Only Klaus sniffled like this. It was a pathetic, miserable, pitiful sound. </p><p>Luther kept quiet and listened to the sounds until he heard the trio walk through the lobby towards the front door. A moment later, the door opened and then closed, leaving the house silent and sniffle-less once more. But why would his father take Klaus out of the house in the middle of the night? He could only assume that the third set of footsteps had belonged to Pogo. So what was going on?</p><p>His milk forgotten on the table, Luther moved without thinking as he hurried through the hall and towards the door. He was careful not to make a sound as he slipped out into the night. It was February and the night bitingly cold, so he pulled his yellow cardigan tighter around himself, hoping it would shield him from the freezing air. A bit farther ahead down the street, he could make out Reginald, Klaus and, what he assumed to be Pogo. He doubted that Klaus had the comfort of his snuggly green cardigan right now. As the trio passed a street lamp, he could see the naked skin of Klaus’ long legs. He was wearing his regular academy uniform and was dragging his feet in defeat. </p><p>Luther hurried to follow the procession without getting detected. He realized quickly where they were headed and felt dread settle into his bones. Down that street was the old abandoned church that had burned down in the late eighties and, directly next to it, the old church’s graveyard that was no longer used for burials since the church had burned down. Was his father directing his brother who could speak to the dead towards a graveyard? And then what? Was this Klaus’ special training? To sit in a graveyard in the middle of the night and communicate with spirits while the old man watched?</p><p>He suddenly remembered Klaus vanishing for hours and sometimes for days without a word form their father in recognition of the missing child. He had always assumed that Klaus had just begun to sneak out early and sometimes ran away for a few days but what if all of this was part of his training? Knowing what he knew now about Klaus’ powers and why he had started to dull them with drugs and alcohol, it seemed cruel to take him to a graveyard like this. </p><p>Klaus, after they had returned to the past, had once told them quietly that the ghosts he encountered tended to follow him around. Most of them stayed close to where they died, yes, some would follow their murderers around and some would follow Klaus after they realized that he could see and hear them. Five had gotten quite pale at this revelation and Klaus had told him that, yes, in the future timeline, there were quite a lot ghosts trailing after him, although not as many as Five probably suspected.</p><p>Up until that point, Luther had never even tried to understand what it was like for Klaus with a power so morbid which he couldn't even switch on or off. As he had confessed this thought process to his brother, Klaus had actually started crying. Well, he had always been the most sensitive of them all - especially as a kid and before he had started to dull all emotions with drugs and buried them deep within himself. </p><p>As he heard the loud squeaking of the graveyard’s gate  he hurried his steps so that he wouldn't lose them. The graveyard was quite big for being in the middle of the city and as he finally reached the still open gate and slipped inside he barely heard them anymore and lost sight of them completely. For a little while, he stumbled through the dark graveyard before he could hear the sound of heavy doors falling shut. A little while later, he heard footfalls crunching on the main path of the graveyard again and ducked into the darkness of a statue to be hidden from sight as Reginald and Pogo walked back to the gate. Klaus was no longer with them. </p><p>Had they left Klaus alone on the graveyard? The sound of the doors falling shut … Had they put Klaus into a tomb? No. Certainly, his father would not go so far, right? In the darkness of the graveyard with no lamp posts around and no flashlight to aid him, he felt helpless in finding his brother, so he more or less stumbled across the path before he started calling out for Klaus - hoping and praying that no one other than Klaus would actually hear him.</p><p>For a while it seemed that his efforts were fruitless before, finally, he heard a thin voice calling back to him. »Luther!« The voice called out before he heard fists banging against the doors of one of the tombs that were littered across the graveyard. »Luther, get me out!« </p><p>He followed the panicked voice of his brother through the graveyard until he finally found the mausoleum the voice came from. It seemed to be the one farthest away from the street so that no one would hear Klaus screaming, as it seemed.</p><p>The heavy metal doors of the mausoleum were secured with an iron chain and a lock but to Luther, it was no hindrance at all as he ripped both things off with ease. He tossed lock and chain to the side before he pulled the heavy doors open. Klaus all but fell in front of his feet as he quickly scrambled out of the tomb. Luther briefly noticed in the darkness that the back of his uniform jacket seemed torn as if he had been attacked by an animal. He allowed the doors to fall shut immediately as Klaus was outside and kneeled down beside his trembling brother.</p><p>Klaus was beside himself with terror, sobs rolling off his lips, tears streaming down his pale face. Quickly, Luther scrambled to pull his cardigan off his back and put it around Klaus’ narrow shoulders before pulling his brother into a tight hug. »Hey, it's okay. You’re okay, you're safe now.« Luther muttered close to Klaus’ left ear as he held his scrawny brother close to his chest. It seemed to take ages until Klaus had calmed down enough to speak at least. </p><p>»Can we leave?« He whispered into Luther’s chest.</p><p>»Of course!« He hastily replied and wanted to punch himself for not immediately grabbing Klaus and pulling him away from the graveyard. Just because he was no longer inside that mausoleum it didn't mean everything was magically okay for him. There probably were still more than enough ghosts around at the graveyard to freak him out. </p><p>Gently, he pulled Klaus to his feet even though his knees seemed to be buckling under his weight. He put his arm around Klaus’ shoulders and pulled him close into his side. Even though he had troubles navigating through the graveyard in the darkness, Klaus didn't seem to share the same problem. He could be blind and still quickly leading Luther to the exit. And Klaus didn't stop as they reached the street. Instead, he was now the one pulling Luther along down the street to get as far away from the graveyard as possible.</p><p>»Klaus…« He muttered quietly. »Hey … what was that?« </p><p>»Training.« Klaus whispered hoarsely as they slowed their speed down the street. </p><p>»Training?« Luther echoed. »You mean torture! Fuck, Klaus! Why didn't you say anything? How long’s this going on for?«</p><p>»Well … it started when I turned eight.« Klaus muttered quietly and just like with Diego, Luther felt speechless and empty. Suddenly, it clicked all together, the puzzle pieces formed a picture in his mind. Diego had left the academy with seventeen right after Ben’s death and he had taken Klaus with him. He had told Luther that he didn't want to return for Klaus’ funeral next. Was this why? Obviously Diego had known about this training, right? Those two had no secrets in front of each other! »And it ended … well, originally it ended when I was thirteen but … Dad only got worse after Five vanished because he thought he was dead and so he put me through a lot to make contact … which I obviously couldn't do. He thought it was because of the drugs and so he would lock me up again in there and make me go cold turkey while being surrounded by ghosts…«</p><p>»Klaus … you should’ve said something. We went back to this time and … I would have done everything I could to stop this if I had known.«</p><p>»I just … I thought … I could do it. I didn't want the group to be held back by my whining and I … I didn't know if you would believe me or take it seriously. It was worse tonight though…«</p><p>»Your powers have been expanding and acting up rapidly since you got clean.«</p><p>»Yeah … they were able to touch me tonight. I was so fucking scared … I was convinced they would kill me.«</p><p>»You should have said something.« Luther muttered quietly. »I mean … you shouldn't have to go through that bullshit again.«</p><p>»But that was the deal we made when we returned to this time, Lu.« Klaus sighed and leaned his head against Luther’s shoulder, quietly tugging the cardigan tighter around himself. »And I thought … this time, Five isn’t going to run off on us, right? This time … Dad will stop with the mausoleum like last time and this time there will be no reason why he should try again.«</p><p>»But this time you are not on drugs and interfering with his experiments that way.« Luther reminded him gently as he pulled him closer into his side. It was cold and the wind cut through his clothes and seeped right into his bones. Klaus, however, surely was freezing much more than he did so he had no right to complain. </p><p>»No…« Klaus sighed. »What are we gonna do now?« Klaus looked up at him out of tired-looking eyes. </p><p>»I don't know.« Luther confessed with a sigh of his own. »Really … I have no idea but I’m not letting him take you back there. I don't care what he says or does but … you are not going to go back there.«</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 3-</b>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Five was on edge ever since they arrived in the past. That sentence alone sounded wrong in Luther’s own head. Still, the fact remained that Five was on edge since he got them here. At first, he had been sick and weak and had needed to lay low for a while but now, almost three weeks after the fact, he was brimming with nervous energy. Sure, he had always been like this in a way but now it seemed so much worse. </p><p>If Reginald noticed it, he didn't comment on it as he probably chalked it up to just Five being Five. He didn't comment either on Five scribblings all over his bedroom walls in what had to be a manic episode. He seemed to have them more often now - especially after Diego’s special training had been revealed to the rest of the group followed shortly by the reveal of what Dad did to Klaus on a regular. He seemed now more adamant than ever to get them back to their adult bodies and into a timeline devoid of the apocalypse. It wasn't easy, however, when they still had to figure out a way to properly train their sister’s powers without attracting Reginald’s very much unwanted attention. </p><p>His brother didn't even seem to register that Luther had arrived at his room and was currently leaning in the open door while Five was still scribbling on his bedroom walls with the colorful green wallpaper adorned with cars. A toy train stood resolutely on a chest of drawers in the corner. He couldn't recall Five ever playing with that thing. He most likely had taken it though to use as a projectile to throw at Klaus at one point. </p><p>Luther remembered a silly week when they had been six years old where the "unevens" had waged war against the "evens" for no other reason than that they had found it bothersome that the even numbers squad would sit in Ben’s room to read comics together. What glorious times those were. They had been so young and naive and innocent, their problems so minuscule compared to what they knew now. </p><p>»Five?« He finally addressed his brother. »What are you doing?«</p><p>»What's it look like?« </p><p>Last time he had caught Five in such a situation, Five had been talking to a mannequin torso he called Dolores before telling Luther that some poor gardener’s death might stop the apocalypse from happening in the first place. He hoped that this would not be a repeat of that day.  </p><p>»It looks like a repeat of your obsession with the apocalypse.« </p><p>»It is not an <em> obsession!« </em> He spat the word out like it was venom. »But yes this is about the apocalypse. Do you think it’s over just because we are back here? No, we just delayed the inevitable so we need to make it avoidable! So, if you don't mind, I need to <em> focus</em>, Number One.« </p><p>»Maybe it would help you if you would actually just talk to me - or <em> someone</em>, if you don't want to talk to me.« It had taken Luther a long time but, in the end, he had come to the conclusion that maybe his siblings weren’t so thrilled talking to him if they got the chance. He couldn't blame them after everything. And Five … Well, even during their first go-around, they had never talked all that much. </p><p>»Talk?« Five huffed. »You really think talking would help? I mean … Wow, why didn't I think about that earlier, Luther? Really, that's a genius idea! You are so smart!«</p><p>»Five…«</p><p>»What Luther, what?« He snarled. »Do you have any more of your great wisdom to share with me or was that it? If you are quite done, I would like to resume my work here. In case you have not understood our situation: It's bad.« </p><p>»It's not worse than a few weeks ago when we were literally experiencing armageddon.«</p><p>»Yes, it is!« His eyes were sending sparks all across the room. If he could, he would set Luther ablaze with just his eyes. It took Luther a second or two but, at last, he understood what was really going on.</p><p>»Is this because what Dad’s been doing to Klaus and Diego?«</p><p>»No! It's about Armageddon!« </p><p>»Yes, I know!« Luther sighed exasperatedly as he stepped further into the room even under the threat of being killed with a pen by his own brother. He closed the door behind him and ignored the way Five hissed at him like an especially pissed off cat. He walked over to Five’s desk, pulled out the chair and sat down heavily. »I know it is about Armageddon and it is also about Klaus and Diego and about how Dad treated all of us. Because before we knew about what he was doing to our siblings during the first go-around, it was just the pressure of finding a way to train Vanya and prevent the apocalypse but now you know what he did to them and you don't want to get them away from here as quickly as possible. Is that about right?«</p><p>Five stared at him with an open mouth like a fish. »Uhm« He said and it was about the most unintelligent thing that Luther had ever heard coming out of his genius’ brother’s mouth.</p><p>»I get it.« He explained quietly. »I really do … What Dad did to them the first go-around was just beyond fucked-up and I don't want them to go through all of that again either.« </p><p>»No« Five then groaned. »No, you don't get it, Luther. And you know why? Because you weren't there. You haven't seen what I saw when I arrived in the apocalypse.« </p><p>»Then tell me.« Luther offered with hopeful eyes. »Tell me. You ran around with all of this for such a long time and could never tell anyone - I am here now, so tell me.« </p><p>Five was not the type of person who would actually talk freely and willingly about his feelings. That was just how it had always been and Luther didn't expect this situation to be any different. And yet, his brother suddenly served to surprise him as he slumped down to sit on his bed, his scribbling on the wall forgotten for a moment of reprieve. </p><p>»I already told you that I found you all dead.« He shrugged and although he said it as neutrally as someone would be able to say words like these, Luther didn't miss the slight tremor in Five’s voice. A few months ago, in their real timeline, he wouldn’t have noticed. Just like he had never noticed Klaus being picked from his room every now and then in the middle of the night. »Not all of you, of course. But I found you, Allison, Diego, and Klaus. I didn't know then that Ben had already died long before or that Dad had died or that Vanya would be the cause of all of this.«</p><p>Five allowed himself a small pause as if he needed to collect his thoughts and bring them in order first. Until he had come back to his family, Five had never had a reason to talk about all of this - nor that he had had anyone to talk to about it either. He could only imagine how hard it was now. Not everyone was as open as Klaus was - or at least that was what Luther hat thought all those years. Even Klaus had had his secrets as Luther had now finally grasped. Even Klaus was hiding the important shit from his siblings, not daring to talk about his true emotions.</p><p>»I tried getting back to the past but it just wouldn't work. And when I realized that I was stuck there … I didn't know what to do. I pretend to always know the answer to any little question but in truth, I have no idea what I am doing half the time. In trying to save you, I got you in only bigger trouble. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had never returned to you guys. Most of the things that happened … Well, I was a dick and that didn't help the situation. Sure, if Reginald had never done this shit to Vanya, we wouldn't have had this situation and if Klaus hadn't thrown Reginald’s stuff out into the dumpster, Harold Jenkins would have never found out about Vanya and wouldn't have been able to manipulate her. But if I hadn't returned and told you about the apocalypse, you would have never known and the commission would have never gone after you guys, Klaus would have never been kidnapped by Cha-Cha and Hazel and perhaps … perhaps the apocalypse would have never actually happened.«</p><p>»I don't think it’s that easy.« Luther replied calmly as he bridged the distance between them and sat down next to Five on the edge of the bed. »Honestly? I think it would have happened regardless. We were horrible to each other. All of us. We treated each other like shit, abused one another and ignored one another. Seeing Klaus and Diego in these situations truly opened my eyes, you know? I mean … that is what happened to them as children and I never knew it. I didn't care about them and so it was easy to ignore it and put a blind eye to it. I disregarded Klaus’ addiction as him just being weak and an attention whore. I never questioned what it was like for him, never questioned what his life on the streets had been like either. I was a bad leader and a worse brother. I mean, Diego knew all this, saw all this and helped Klaus as much as he was able to. And I did nothing. With Vanya too … I mean, I saw how Dad treated her and I didn't care. Her causing the apocalypse and killing all of us … I think it was inevitable for the way we always treated her.«</p><p>»So what do you propose?«</p><p>»We need to try to make this all better.«</p><p>»So your solution to the end of the world is using the power of love and friendship?« Five scoffed with a roll of his green eyes, prompting a small chuckle from Luther. It was odd that Number Five would ask him of all people for direction. </p><p>»Well, that's how Klaus would say it, I guess - but Klaus is not always wrong.« </p><p>»No … No, he’s not.« Five sighed. Just by the way he sat there and stared at his knees, Luther could tell that his mind had started to wander again and he didn't need to wait long for Five to open his mouth once more. »I found him last - Klaus. It looked like you, Allison, and Diego had been fighting against Vanya and Harold but Klaus … we all know he isn’t much of a fighter. In that timeline, he would have never been kidnapped, never time traveled, never gotten sober, never had been able to conjure Ben to help him. I think he might have tried to run away and got killed in the collapse. I think he died last and … just imagining this … knowing how scared he must’ve been, knowing that he got probably trapped under the rubble and maybe suffered for hours before he died … It never quite left me, you know? Even after forty years in that wasteland, it never left me - that image of Klaus under that debris.«</p><p>He shook his head as if, this way, he might be able to shake off the image. Luther, on the other hand, didn't allow his mind to wander. There was an unspoken hierarchy in their family that had nothing to do with their numbers. In that hierarchy, Klaus was their youngest. It was stupid and weird and made no sense at all but that was what it had always felt like.  Knowing what he knew now and imagining the scene Five had described … No, he couldn't do it. Knowing that Klaus had died in that way after being scared of the dark and tight spaces, to begin with … It was too much.</p><p>»When I came back to you guys, I just wanted to prevent all of this.« Five continued quietly. »I never wanted to see one of you hurt again and yet, I made it all worse. You guys got hurt again. Allison got her throat slit … Diego lost his ex-girlfriend, you had to learn what a monster Reginald was even to you, and Klaus went through hell and back and I didn't even notice it. I was so … possessed by the idea to change it all and save the world that I forgot why I wanted to come back in the first place. For forty years, I just wanted to get home, see my siblings again, tell you guys that I was sorry for being such a brat all the time, tell you that I loved all of you. But when I did finally manage to return, I spend my time obsessing over the apocalypse and keeping all of you away. I was so relieved to see you all again but then I build up my walls even higher and in my pursuit to save you all, I pushed you all away. If I had just stayed at Vanya’s apartment for the night that first night, maybe things would have been different. I don't know. I will never know - and that bugs me.« </p><p>The brothers allowed silence to settle over them for just a moment. He could hear the ticking of the alarm clock on Five’s bedside table, the faint sounds of the house far away. Mom was cooking dinner, probably humming some tune with Diego there to help her. Vanya was with Allison - she avoided touching her violin lately. Klaus and Ben were probably reading comics together or raiding Allison’s closet. Everything was peaceful. </p><p>»So, I guess … we should take a page out of Klaus’ book then, huh?« He huffed once again. Five, however, didn't react as horrified as Diego the first time. Ever since he had found his brother in that mausoleum he had started to realize just how much Klaus had always truly meant for the team and how far he was willing to go even now to protect his siblings. The very same siblings who had dismissed and ignored him all this time in the past. Looking back with the knowledge he had now, however, he could see how often Klaus had truly stuck his neck out for every last one of them in the past. So often had he taken the fall for one of them and bore the punishments that to Luther it had been no question that he would do the same after he had found him.</p><p>Of course, Reginald had not been a fan of Luther going against the rules and even taking Klaus from the mausoleum but, after Luther had explained himself and his point, Reginald had agreed that the training seemed to be fruitless anyway. ‘The Boy is too coked up to be of use’ his father had said and Luther had nodded in agreement and told Klaus to act as if he would still be on drugs around their father.</p><p>»Love and friendship?« Five finally asked with a fond roll of his eyes.</p><p>»It's the best shot we’ve got.«</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 4-</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Ben</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something was afoot with Ben. Number Six was aloof and fidgety. He hadn't been in the beginning, after they returned to their childhood days. At first, Ben had just been … happy - for lack of a better word. He had embraced life all over again, rejoiced at the fact that he was alive once more, that he could feel everything once more. It was odd. They took life for granted, all of them, but Ben knew what it was like to be dead. He knew what it was like to have no voice and be forced to linger in the background. For over a decade, Ben’s life had consisted of being a shadow of his brother Klaus, of watching him go through life with that laissez-faire attitude that no one could really grasp, let alone understand - less of all someone like Ben who had lost this gift that Klaus had been throwing away willingly. </p><p>Even Reginald had commented on Ben’s chipper mood at the start of all of this. In fact, the siblings had been nervous when their father had commented on it during dinner on the third day but the old man had shrugged it off quickly enough and went back to ignoring or tormenting them quickly enough. Ben’s changed behavior was barely worth a footnote in his extensive journals about his adopted children.</p><p>However, lately Ben was no longer this happy-go-lucky kind of guy that he had been when they arrived in the past. He was not closing himself off from his siblings either, he just … he went back to his more solemn quiet self for a while and now he was sometimes downright isolating himself. Even from Klaus and Diego.</p><p>He found Ben in the yard on this Sunday afternoon. He sat in the last rays of the February sun and seemed to drink them in as he sat on one of the benches and stared ahead. It took Luther a second to realize that he was staring at the space where his statue would be erected in about 4 years from now. </p><p>»Hey Benny« He called out to his brother but Ben didn't react to him. So, Luther walked closer with furrowed brows. Ben was not usually one to ignore his siblings. »Benny« He called out again and once more didn't get a reaction. He quickly reached his side and put a hand on Ben’s shoulder as he again said »Benny« and finally startled a reaction out of Number Six. The boy almost jumped out of his skin and Luther felt a bit sorry for scaring him like this but he couldn't quite swallow the chuckle that escaped him at Ben’s reaction.</p><p>»Oh … Sorry« Ben huffed. »I didn't hear you.« </p><p>»So I’ve noticed.« Luther huffed. »Klaus is looking for you. He said something about waffles.«</p><p>»He wants to sneak out tonight.« Ben grinned but the smile never reached his eyes. Luther had noticed that a lot lately on Number Six. »You know, like when we were kids. He plans on waking you guys up tonight and sneak out to Griddy’s.«</p><p>»He could just … tell us right now?«</p><p>»Yeah« Ben sighed with a soft roll of his eyes. »But he thinks it's more fun this way.« </p><p>»And you indulge him.«</p><p>»Don't I ever.« Ben chuckled. »I’m gonna go to him later.« </p><p>He nodded and Ben returned his attention to the empty spot in the yard. Luther knew that he should just go back inside and leave Ben to his own thoughts but something told him to stay at his side instead. He sat down on the bench beside Ben and just stared ahead as his brother did. Right now, Ben seemed to need a bit of silence and reprieve from the beehive that was their home and their family. </p><p>For a while, they just sat together in silence side by side. He could not remember a time when he had ever sat with Ben like this just being silent like this with no need for any form of conversation. Probably not. There had always been something to do in the past when Ben had still been alive and Luther all too eager to throw orders around at his siblings.</p><p>»Did I ever tell you about how it was on the Moon?« He asked after a few minutes of just sitting side by side like this. Ben was one of the few members of the family who would not snort at the mention of the Moon. Five had once said that he talked too much about it and so Luther had shut up. Compared to what Five or Klaus or Vanya or, hell, even Diego had gone through, his four years in isolation seemed to be nothing.</p><p>»No.« Ben replied and turned his head to him, a silent invitation for Luther to keep going with what he wanted to say. </p><p>»Well … at first, I was almost glad that Dad sent me up there, you know?« He started quietly, always mindful of the possibility that someone might overhear their conversation who wasn’t meant to overhear it. »I thought: This is it. This is my purpose. This is what he’d always planned for me. This is what I want. I was always fascinated with the moon and the stars, after all. Of course, that was what I wanted, right? It had to be what I wanted.«</p><p>»Did you not?«</p><p>»Maybe in the beginning.« He sighed. »When I went up there, I just got the serum and … my life just didn't make much sense anymore at that time, you know? I didn't know who I was any longer. And I thought … what difference would it make if I would live up there compared to down here? I was all alone down here anyway. A freak of nature, a monster, not even human. I didn't leave the house much before and after … No. Sure, I had Dad, Mom, and Pogo but … I hardly ever saw Dad. He was living cooped up in his office and Pogo was mostly by his side and Mom…«</p><p>»Mom is a machine.« There was a much familiar longing in Ben’s voice as he said these words - a longing Luther knew all too well himself. No matter her bright smiles and her kind gestures, at the end of the day, Grace was a machine.</p><p>»Yeah … Don't let Diego hear that though.« Ben gave a weak little chuckle. »In all honesty, in the beginning, I felt less lonely up there than I did down here. Up there it was … quiet and peaceful and there was no one to look at me like I was some kind of monster. It got lonely real fast, though. I often wrote Dad and asked him for more plants I could take care of or something else than soy paste to eat. He never responded to anything I’ve ever written. Of course, I know now that he never opened the letters and packages. He didn't care. But when I was up there, I didn't realize that. I thought that he would sooner or later either answer and maybe send me what I wanted or he would tell me not to be ridiculous. I started to feel bad for even asking in the first place.« </p><p>He paused with a weak little smile. »He got me to the point where I thought that asking for another plant or something else to eat was too much, too brazen. So, I started apologizing in my letters and still, I never got an answer. Remember what Diego said at Dad’s funeral? That Dad sent me away because he couldn't stand to look at me? When I was up there … after a while, I thought that this was exactly what happened. I was no longer useful to him. His experiment of a team of superheroes had failed and so he exiled and forgot me. When I got the news of his death I was horrified and sad but I was … relieved too. I don't know why. Coming back down here though was strange and sometimes, even now back in the past, I still feel strange. I still don't feel as if I belong down here, you know?«</p><p>»Yeah.« Ben sighed and looked back at the empty spot in the yard. »I get it. I sometimes forget that you guys can actually see me now. Sometimes I forget that I am alive again. Sometimes I too feel like I don’t belong here.« </p><p>»It was hard, wasn't it? All those years at Klaus’ side?«</p><p>»Yes.« Ben answered quickly. During their original childhood, Ben would have blushed at such a brazen statement to such a difficult question. This Ben, however, was wiser and calmer and more detached, with fewer inhibitions to tell the truth. »Don't get me wrong, I love Klaus to bits but … it wasn't easy. And there have been times when I hated him.« </p><p>He could imagine but he wouldn't say it as to not sound insensitive. He had behaved like an asshole to Klaus in the past, after all. He wanted to do better now, nut just with Klaus. He and Diego actually fought way less these days and he now knew when to take the chalk from Five’s fingers and just sit with him for a bit. He felt like he understood his siblings better. Whenever Dad would go into Klaus’ room at night to switch off the fairy lights, Luther would sneak back in to switch them back on. </p><p>»I mean … imagine being stuck following a guy around for over a decade who is dead set on fucking up his own life. So many times I had to watch him throw away his life while I was stuck in limbo and it … it hurt. It sucked. It was … a complete and utter nightmare. All those nights watching how he tried to find a place to sleep, how he slept between dumpsters and trash cans or sold his dignity away for a motel room. It was-« </p><p>Ben stopped himself with a weird strangled little sound in the back of his throat before he continued. There was a certain sense of anger seeping into Ben’s always steady and calm voice now though.</p><p>»The worst part about it was that I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't help him, I couldn't make him stop, I couldn't even talk sense into him. And when he would collapse from an overdose somewhere where he would be hard to be found, I couldn't even yell for help. There have been so many nights when I was certain that I had lost him and I … I was terrified. Not just because I thought I had lost him and that he really died but because I was afraid of what would become of me. Listen … I’ve seen the ghosts that Klaus would see on a regular basis. I know what he has to deal with every waking moment of his life and I was terrified to become one more restless angry spirit like those that tormented Klaus. He was my anchor to sanity, almost. And now … being back here as if all of that didn't happen … In the beginning, I was just happy to be alive again, to be able to speak and be heard and to touch and … but now … Now I don't know what I am supposed to think or feel. And when Five figures everything out … what then? When we go back to our adult bodies … I don't want to go back to that cold dark place.«</p><p>It was the first time that it actually occurred to Luther that if Five got everything right and them back to the future, Ben would also be dead again. Of course, there was always the chance that they would find some loophole - and by <em> they </em> he meant <em> Five </em>- but the bets were off on that. He felt numb realizing that Ben's death would be a very real possibility. In fact, it was like Ben would die all over again.</p><p>»I'm sorry.« He muttered as he realized that there was nothing he could say or do to make this better or even stop it from happening in the first place.</p><p>»For what?«</p><p>»Not being a better brother. Not being a better leader. Not being there. Not protecting you. There's plenty I messed up.«</p><p>»I'm not saying that you didn't mess up« Ben chuckled. »but … we were kids, Luther. All of us. And it was not fair what Dad put on you.«</p><p>»No but … I still messed up a lot with you guys. I can't blame it all on Dad either. Dad wasn't around when I got shitfaced and went to that rave, right? Dad wasn't around when I threw Klaus across the room. Dad wasn't around when I locked Vanya into that cage downstairs either.«</p><p>Ben gave his shoulder a little pat. »The past is in the past- Well, no … it's actually in the future, right? Well, either way, we have all learned from our mistakes and now we can move forward. We can make it better when we get back to our time and-« He paused and stared back at the spot where his statue would be. »I hope Five figures out a way so I won't be dead again. Being alive is nice, actually. I would rather keep it that way.«</p><p>»We’ll figure it out, Ben.« Luther murmured as he put his arm around Ben’s shoulders. »We’ll figure it out.«</p><p>Later that night, when the clock in the sitting room had already turned midnight, the seven Hargreeves siblings snuck out of Five’s bedroom window and down the fire escape. Unseen by their father, all seven of them went to Griddy’s down the road and ate until their stomachs hurt. He had been awake when he had heard Klaus’ footsteps approaching on his door but he had acted as if he was still asleep, his blankets tucked high underneath his chin to hide that he was still fully dressed. He had wanted to allow Klaus that bit of fun of thinking he had woken him and surprised him with his idea. As he looked around the table later into the very much wide awake faces of his siblings, he realized that they had all known and that they had all decided to play along.</p><p>Briefly, Luther caught Ben’s eyes. They shared a mischievous little grin and went back to shoving donuts in their faces.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 5-</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Vanya</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was a universal truth that Vanya and Luther Hargreeves didn't get along. It had always been like this and not because Luther would hate her or because he wouldn't love her. Vanya was his sister and he very much loved her like he loved all his siblings. It was just the fact that she used to be so very different from the rest of the group - and she still was. That was, of course, by design. Their father could certainly be blamed for the way she had turned out but, in a way, she had always been different from the rest of them. That was just how it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew now as an adult that what their father had done to her was wrong. He also knew that Reginald had done it to protect his other six children from Vanya’s immense powers. She had been a little child and unable to control her true powers. Sooner or later, she would have hurt one of them, if not killed one of them. They all knew it but none of them would say it. Sometimes, when he would look at Vanya, he thought that she knew it too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had almost killed Allison, after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was hard to look at her now, being back in their teenage bodies and not see Allison in a pool of her own blood, injured by the hands of her own sister. It was hard to be alone in a room with Vanya and not hold a grudge against her. Yet, as he looked at her now, as she was folding laundry as if nothing had ever happened (which was technically correct because in this time it had not yet happened), he realized that she probably felt the same way about him. He too had done terrible things. He had betrayed the profound and instinctual trust that they, as siblings, had in one another. They might not be related by blood and they might have been raised as soldiers and not as siblings and yet, there was an undeniable, deep, intrinsical trust in each other. Even with Diego he had always known that his brother would come to his aid if he needed it - no matter their quarrels in the past, no matter their difficulties. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had used that trust that Vanya had had for him, no matter how fragile it had been to begin with, against her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a sunny day in late February and while Five was still working on his stupid equations, Ben, Diego, and Klaus were currently doing yard work. Allison was off to some photoshoot with Sir Reginald and that left Luther and Vanya to do the laundry for this week. He had always hated laundry work. He couldn't figure it out for the life of him!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Okay« He sighed in defeat. »I have a question.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That got Vanya’s attention and made her look up from where she was folding one of Diego’s shirts. Instead of saying something, she quirked an eyebrow - not that they could usually see her eyebrows behind her thick bangs anyway. He could tell that she was doing it regardless. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Scratch that« He then huffed. »I have more than one question, actually.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Shoot.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Okay, I kinda get why you separate colors - though I still don’t get why you would separate black from red. But why don't you then also separate shirts from underwear? And what is that perfume bottle for? And how much detergent do I need? Isn’t the hot water enough to kill all the nasty germs?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Are these all your questions?« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»For now.« That actually gained him a little smile from his sister even though it quickly vanished again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Well, depending on the underwear you do seperate it from shirts.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»What?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Well, if it's like lacy and really sensitive you should separate it from normal shirts. Jus like you should put bras in an extra bag and not stuff them into the machine.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Bras?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Yes … Bras.« She said it so slowly and patiently as if she would think Luther wouldn't know what bras were or if he hadn't been aware that his sisters were indeed wearing them. He remembered during his first go at childhood, the revelation of the female underwear section had been indeed quite the shock to all of them boys. Well, except for Klaus who had promptly proceeded to try on Allison’s underwear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I wasn't aware you put them in the washer.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Of course, you do.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I see…« He hummed still fiddling with the bottle of detergent before Vanya gave a little sigh and walked over to him to take the bottle from him. She was patient as she showed him how much was enough and allowed him to put it in like a mother would do with a little child. »In my defense, I lived on the moon for four years and tried my best to make Diego do laundry duty for me.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»It shows.« Vanya huffed. »I mean I had to learn it for myself, really, when I moved out. Sure, I did laundry here at the academy but when you are living on your own and need to use the laundromat down the street it's something very different, I would say.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Were you never … lonely?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»What do you mean?« She shot him an incredulous but very patient look. Somehow, despite how annoyed she could get, Vanya seemed always so patient. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I mean … wasn't it lonely living on your own?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»It wasn't any lonelier than it used to be when I lived here.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Sorry … that was a stupid question.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Yes, it was.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Ouch.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I’m-«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»No, I deserve that.« He chuckled in response and gave his neck an awkward little scratch. »I was an asshole.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I mean … yeah you were.« Vanya replied and they shared a small glance. There was that timid little girl looking back at him but in her eyes was a wisdom and clarity beyond the thirteen years of her body. She had reduced her medication slowly since they returned to this time and was working on her powers and ever since that, she no longer took all the shit that was thrown her way. She actually spoke up for herself. Which was why she and Luther were condemned to laundry work, in the first place. Luther for freeing Klaus from the mausoleum as a form of punishment - being the mildest punishment he had gotten for that deed so far - and Vanya for talking back to Dad during lunch. »Don't get me wrong … You only did what Dad told you to do. It's not your fault but you were still an asshole regardless.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»It is my fault.« Luther replied quietly. »Sure, I did what Dad told me but that doesn't change the fact that I was an asshole to all of you guys.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Dad messed all of us up in different ways.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Yes.« He sighed. »But what I did later, when I came back from the Moon … what I did to you … I can't explain that away with </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Dad made me do it’</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore. You know, sometimes I look back and think that me going to the Moon was kinda my punishment for this shit I did to all of you.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Luther-«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I just want you to know that I am … sorry. I am sorry for what I did to you, these last few days before the apocalypse and … Well … throughout our childhood, really. I was an idiot, Vanya. I thought that being Number One actually meant something, you know? I thought that Dad made me Number One because I was special in some way but he didn't make me Number One because I was his favorite or because I was better than any of you … I was just the first he collected.« He shrugged and couldn't deny how defeated he truly felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I never understood that until I found all those unopened packages that I sent him. When I saw that I truly understood that I was not special in any way to him. He couldn't care less about me. In making me Number One, he ensured himself my loyalty. He knew that I wouldn't go against him because I was afraid that then I could maybe lose my status. He did so much to us … especially Diego and me to think that we had to fight for his love and respect. It took me thirty years to understand that he never loved any of us. And while I was his perfect tool, his willing puppet, the people in this family who were truly special were treated the worst. Maybe it was to keep you and Klaus feeling small and insignificant so that neither one of you would ever realize how important and special and powerful you really were.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He paused for a second, turning his next words over and over in his head before he found the energy to say them. »Sometimes I think that Dad was afraid of you and of Klaus. That was why he kept you guys under his thumb like he did. You were dangerous and unpredictable. And both of you have characters that couldn't be easily controlled so he found a way to control you.«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»That is the most insightful thing I ever heard from you.« Vanya sighed and leaned her hip against the rumbling washing machine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Yeah … Took me a while to get there, huh?« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Better late than never?« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Can you ever forgive me?«</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»I … Luther … I don't … I don't know. I wished I could say yes but I … don't know yet. So much happened and I have to understand it all still. I … It's a lot. It's not easy but I … I think, in time, I might.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»That's enough.« Luther smiled. »I would like to hug you but I … I understand if you don't want to … After last time. I just want you to know that I understand that what I did was horrible. I betrayed your trust and I attacked you. I could have killed you when I did that to you and at that moment I didn't care … I was just so angry and panicked for Allison. I will never raise a hand against one of my siblings ever again. That's what I promised myself when we came back here.« </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanya looked down at her feet instead of meeting his eyes. He knew that his words were not enough and meant hardly anything to his sister. He knew that he still had a long way ahead of him when he wanted to gain his sister’s forgiveness at some point down the line. Still, Vanya surprised him, as she extended her hand to him and grabbed Luther’s left hand to give it a squeeze. She didn't really need to say anything more. He got it. It wasn’t much but it was a start and a good one at that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>»Come on.« Vanya then said. »I show you how to iron our uniforms. You did an atrocious job on the shirts.« </span>
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  <b>-End of Chapter 6-</b>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Luther</h2></a>
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    <p>The moment Luther had started helping his siblings out, he had known that it would have repercussions for him. Still, the next hit with the cane hurt even worse than he remembered it to hurt. It felt like his back was in tatters by the time he counted the tenth blow and still, Reginald didn't stop bringing down the cane on his skin. The most unnerving thing was that Reginald didn't say a word. He never said a word while punishing him. That, he had realized only as an adult, was also a form of control over him. Him, Number One, who so desperately sought approval from the man who delivered the punishment. </p><p>Things were different now, though. Luther was no longer that wide-eyed little boy who honestly, with all his heart, believed, that his father could do no wrong. He was no longer willing to play along as Number One - not if it meant going against his siblings, not if it meant standing by while his siblings got hurt.</p><p>But this was not about his siblings. This was about himself and how he had to deal with the aftermath of what he did. Of course, his father wasn’t happy that he had helped Klaus out at the mausoleum. He had given up on using the mausoleum as a training method for Klaus after Luther had taken his brother back home, realizing that Klaus was too high to actively use his powers safely. That, of course, was a lie the brothers had come up with and that relied on Klaus acting the part - which he marvelously did after years and years of experience in that field. However, none of that changed anything about Reginald’s anger towards Luther. </p><p>His punishments for his insubordination had been delivered weekly ever since that nightly incident where he had taken Klaus back home. That night, there had been hell to pay for his actions. The moment that they had arrived back at the house, his father had come barrelling down the stairs from his office, demanding to know what the hell had happened and why Klaus was no longer in his ‘training environment’. </p><p>And while Klaus had been sent back to bed after that, Luther had experienced the worst beatings of his life. During his first go-around, his first attempt of a childhood, he hadn't realized what those beatings really were. That they were not a tool to improve him in any way. He hadn't seen the true cruelty behind them then. It had taken him seeing Diego and Klaus hurt like this that he truly understood it. </p><p>Yet, he didn't say anything during his punishment or after. He allowed Grace to clean and wrap his wounds, put his uniform back on and went back to his room as if nothing had happened. He did this for the next three weeks, not losing a word about it to his siblings. In comparison to what they went through, it didn't matter. Maybe it was karma catching up to him. Karma, for all the times that he hadn't helped his siblings or turned a blind eye to their suffering.</p><p>So, he decided to say nothing, to take the punishments and act as if nothing was wrong in front of his siblings. He was their leader, their protector, after all. They shouldn't be worrying about him when they had so much going on themselves. Maybe it was wrong of him to act like this, even think that his siblings probably wouldn't even care for what he was experiencing but he couldn't quite help it either way. </p><p>After all, he couldn't just go to his siblings and tell them about it, right? Klaus would feel horrible, he would blame himself and feel guilty. He couldn't do that to his little brother now, could he? No. Not after Klaus had already gone willingly through this torture at the hand of their father again just so that his siblings wouldn't worry and focus on the important things. No way he would feed this fire in telling his siblings about his punishment. He had gone through it once, he could do it again. </p><p>※※※※※※※</p><p>Five weeks after they had arrived in the past, and they still hadn't found a solution. They were training in secret with Vanya. They would sneak away to the attic where no cameras were installed - one or two at a time so that they wouldn't draw any suspicion but Vanya’s progress was slow. She knew how to control her powers for a bit but not nearly enough to have them under control during a fight or when her emotions would flare up. This had to have been expected but it was still frustrating. It seemed that they didn't make any progress, neither with Vanya nor with the whole time travel codswallop. </p><p>Rain wan drumming down on the pavement hard as he was running outside in the courtyard. It was his fifteenth laps and he started to feel tired and exhausted. It was just one more bit of punishment at his father’s hands - but this he was familiar with. It was an old friend to Luther, these excessive workout sessions until he would collapse or vomit. </p><p>Already he was swaying badly with each step he took. He had reached his limit ten minutes ago but Reginald kept pushing regardless. »Five more lapses, Number One!« Reginald barked from where he stood at the side underneath his umbrella, as Luther passed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed how Reginald checked his pocket watch. »I expect you to finish your training on your own, Number One. I have more important matters to attend to.«</p><p>During his first go at childhood, he had never quite realized it but now it stuck out to him like a sore thumb. His father had a way of talking to him that never failed to make him feel like he was wasting his time, like his father experienced it to be a nuisance to be with Luther in particular. He had noticed it more since they came back, the way he spoke to each of his children. Sure, he treated them all like they were beneath him and like he couldn't be bothered to actually talk to them, but there were still differences here and there. </p><p>When Reginald would be talking to Klaus, for example, he always sounded disappointed and exhausted no matter what, as if Klaus’ sole existence was draining him of his energy, as if he was waiting for the day Klaus would fuck up his life - which he had inevitably done the first go-around. Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. </p><p>When he would be talking to Ben, he would always air on the side of caution as if he expected the eldritch monstrosity inside of Ben to lash out at him otherwise. He only spoke to Vanya when he needed her assistance. The most friendly he was probably to Allison and the most normal conversation he usually had with Five. </p><p>When it came to Diego and him, he would usually just bark orders at them and that was it. It took almost dying, being sent to the Moon and then experiencing the apocalypse first-hand, to make Luther actually see what Diego had known since they turned fourteen. They were their father's blunt little instruments, the two of them. Their powers were the least special but they possessed the most physical strength. They were their father’s weapons, his tool for destruction and the both of them had all too willingly also played into that sibling rivalry between them. </p><p>He had never seen it how Reginald played them against each other, never realized that Diego wasn’t alone in his inferiority complex. He too felt inferior. He felt inferior to Diego, to Allison, to Klaus, to Five, to Ben, and to Vanya. He was not a good leader. He lacked the intelligence that Five possessed. He lacked the compassion that Diego possessed. He was not as good at making decisions as Ben was. He was not attentive like Klaus. The only thing he had ever been exceptional in was licking his father's boots, pleasing the old man, fulfilling his orders. Dad would bark at him to jump and he would ask how high. Dad would order him to jump down a building and he would have trusted him to somehow catch him. Even now he was continuing to run the five extra lapses after Dad went inside.</p><p>»Luther!« A voice called out for him from one of the windows. He looked up only to see Klaus hanging half out of his own window on the second floor of the house. »What are you doing?«</p><p>»Training!« He replied even though he wasn't allowed to talk while training. His words were accompanied by a dry cough as a result of his rule-breaking. </p><p>»It's raining cats and dogs, Man! You will catch pneumonia!« </p><p>»It's fine!« He called back. »Almost done!« As if to betray his words, as if his body had decided to turn against him, he keeled over vomiting with the next step. He had just enough time to brace himself at one of the rough walls with one hand to stop himself from actually falling flat on his fucking face. The whole world was spinning out of control, though. He felt dizzy and black dots were dancing dangerously at the edge of his vision.</p><p>»Crap!« He could hear Klaus yelp and when he looked to his window, his brother was gone but he could hear Klaus calling out to Diego already. Fuck. </p><p>He allowed himself another two seconds of standing there, letting out what needed out even though he hadn't had any food yet, bracing himself at the wall and on his knees before he made another step forward tentatively. Not to finish his laps but so he could move back inside before the worried-sibling-brigade could catch up with him outside. He didn't get very far, however, as his body hit the floor two steps after that. </p><p>When his mind bubbled back to the realm of consciousness, he felt like he had been stomped on by a pissed-off elephant - repeatedly. It was not exactly a new feeling, even though he would very much like to pretend it was. What was new in this particular situation was, however, that he was surrounded by people. Whenever he had passed out during his training, he had usually woken up in the infirmary or the gym or wherever he had passed out. This time, however, he could feel the presence of his siblings all around him. It was almost a bit eerie. </p><p>»Hey there, big guy.« It was undoubtedly Klaus’ voice even though he was hardly used to how gentle and soft it sounded. A second later, he could feel his brother’s hand on his cheek. His fingers were thin and bony and his nail polish chipped but the worry in Klaus’ eyes as he came into focus, warm and full of worry for him. »How are you feeling?«</p><p>»Where am I?«</p><p>»The attic.« Diego chimed up from his other side. »Five teleported you here. We wanted to bring you to the infirmary but…« He trailed off and Luther didn't need to have Diego explain further. Dad. They were scared of Dad and not too long ago, they had been scared of Luther as well.</p><p>»You passed out.« Allison chimed up then. He could barely see her hovering near his feet with Vanya. »In the courtyard.« </p><p>»Did this happen before?« Ben enquired from the sidelines. </p><p>»Yeah…« He muttered as he tried to sit up slowly only to be aided by Diego and Klaus. »Maybe two or three times … I dunno. It's just … Dad sometimes gets carried away with my training and stuff, no big deal.«</p><p>»No big deal?« It was Five who punched his leg at that. »You passed out! That's a huge fucking deal, okay? You don't just pass out from running a few lapses! Especially not Luther fucking Hargreeves, so what the fuck, Man?« </p><p>»Couldn't have said it any better.« Klaus laughed quietly. »Come on, you big teddy. Talk to us, okay? You’re our Number One, after all. You take care of us, we’ll take care of you. That's what a team does.«</p><p>He almost made a double-take at that and couldn't quite deny the tight feeling inside his chest. </p><p>»I have to agree with Klaus just this once.« Five sighed. »Listen, Luther, we are here now because we fucked up big time - all of us - with each other, right? And you were, after all, the person who saw that and wanted to make it better this time around, right? So allow us to do the same thing for you now.«</p><p>»Dad made you train like this often?« Diego mumbled at his side. He seemed fidgety and nervous, the way he was twirling one of his knives. To others, the gesture would have been intimidating or unnerving but they were so used to it, that it was actually comforting. </p><p>»Yeah.« He finally released a deep sigh at the word. He knew that there would be no way his siblings would actually stop pestering, stop asking him those questions, so why should he try to avoid answering them? »He did. It was … He wanted me to reach my full potential, to go above and beyond and … all that crap. I know now that he just wanted to keep me obedient. It got worse after I took Klaus back home from the mausoleum a few weeks ago, though. He was pissed that I didn't follow his orders.«</p><p>Klaus, out of all of them, had always been the most tactile, the most in need of physical affection, so it was no big surprise now, that Klaus actually wrapped his arms around him from the side and placed his curly head on his shoulder now. Despite Klaus always being so cold, right now, Luther felt just warmth spreading through him at the awkward little hug from his brother, whom he had always disregarded and belittled in the past. </p><p>»You big dingus.« Klaus muttered silently. »You should’ve said something.« </p><p>»I didn't know how … I didn't want to.« Luther then sighed and shook his head just slightly before leaning a bit more into the hug. »I didn't want you to feel guilty or responsible for any of it - because you aren't, okay?« </p><p>»Okay but … you still should’ve said something.« Diego hissed sharply and while Klaus was hugging him, Diego punched his arm instead. »It's like Klaus said, we are a team and we should help each other out so tell the truth, okay? What did Dad do other than this? Because you can't fool me, Brother, I know he hit you, okay? He hit all of us but something tells me it was worse for you.« </p><p>»Bullshit.« Luther chuckled, trying to brush Diego and his concerns off like he used to do in the past. </p><p>»Then what's that on your back, huh? You think I haven't seen it during training the other day?« </p><p>»I don't know what you mean.«</p><p>Without warning, Diego hit him with a flat hand on the back and he couldn't help but howl in pain making Klaus jump away from him as if burned. </p><p>»Then what's that, Brother? Huh? Why is your fucking torso bandaged? And don't tell me it isn't or I’ll fucking cut your stupid ass shirt off, you hear me?«</p><p>»What Diego tries to say in his aggressively caring and worried way is, that we all care about you, Lu. And we want to know if you are hurt. You are not the only one who fucked up the first go-around. We all did in different ways.«</p><p>He felt like an animal that was backed into a corner and he knew that there was no escaping his siblings now, not when they were surrounding him like this, all staring at him with worry. Something like this had never happened before and he felt small, all of a sudden, vulnerable, completely out of his element. He didn't like to feel this way.</p><p>»Dad« He then began quietly. »He used to hit me with a cane when I messed up in his eyes. I mean … I know, he did that to most of us, right? So … No big deal.«</p><p>»But it got worse.« Diego growled. »Because I don't recall ever seeing you in such bad shape before.« He was almost afraid that Diego would hit him again. It was like Klaus mockingly said. Diego had a very aggressive way of showing that he cared. But he hadn't learned it any other way so it wasn't his fault. </p><p>»Yes.« He felt defeated as he slumped his shoulders. »After I took Klaus from the mausoleum. Dad bought our little charade that he is too high for this exercise anyway and stopped putting him in there but that didn't mean he wasn't furious with me for following them and getting him out, right? Dad never intended any of us to find out about the special training, after all. He started punishing me once a week for my bad behavior and each time it got worse, so … yeah. That's what you get for caring in this house.«</p><p>»Dad is a bastard.« Vanya muttered quietly, the first time that she spoke at all since he woke up in here. »He is a monster, Luther. Never forget that. It's not your fault or Klaus’ fault. He’s just … a monster. A bad person.« </p><p>»I know.« He whispered. »I know that but … it's still hard.«</p><p>»Yes, it is.« She smiled softly at him. »Because this time you are awake enough to see his real face, right?«</p><p>»Yeah.«</p><p>»So what are we going to do now?« Allison sighed. »Dad’s coming back in about an hour and then what? If he finds out that Luther collapsed during his training and that we had the audacity to take care of him, everything will get worse for all of us, right?«</p><p>»Right.«</p><p>»So we go back to our time.« Five muttered and six heads turned towards him. »What? I figured out the right formula like a week ago - I just thought we should give Vanya a bit more time, that's all.« </p><p>A moment of silence fell upon them but soon enough, Luther barked out a laugh. He just couldn't help it. It was just so typical of his brother Five to hide something like that from the rest of them. There was also a certain sense of pain to this as well as he sat there and laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. He would go back to being a stranger in his own body, to that monster his father made of him. He didn't like the idea. They would return to Ben being just a ghost at Klaus’ side. It wasn't fair and yet they couldn't help it. It was what it was and there was no sense in lamenting it. </p><p>They were nervous, all of them, when they took each other by the hand as they had once before. He could see it in the faces of all his siblings how afraid and nervous they truly were when Five conjured that dome of blue light and electricity above their heads once again. The whole entire house seemed to shake in fear around them as the storm started to ravage the world and then, with a sharp <em> zip</em>, they were gone from the attic and reappeared not a second later in the courtyard. He stared at his siblings, all of them in shock, at Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, and Vanya and for a second he knew that it hadn't worked out because Ben was still there and because his own hands were not those massive paws they used to be.</p><p>»I allowed myself a few minor changes in the timeline.« Five explained with a tired grin before promptly passing out right on the spot. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>-End of Chapter 7-</b>
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